The Ultimate SaaS Backup Guide

The Importance of SaaS Backup: Debunking Common Misconceptions and Understanding Data Responsibility

If you believe using a SaaS provider means you don’t need backup, that’s a misconception. Unfortunately, this misconception is quite common. Many businesses, like those using Microsoft Office 365 or Salesforce, need SaaS backup or disaster recovery for their data.

The misunderstanding arises from the assumption that the SaaS platform ensures data protection in the cloud. Some also believe third-party SaaS vendors offer backup and recovery within the service, which often is not the case.

However, the responsibility for your data always rests with you. Just because you’ve opted for a SaaS service doesn’t mean you’re exempt from protecting your data for stewardship and compliance reasons.

Many businesses need clarification or are misinformed about data protection and security responsibility, so they skip SaaS backup. Contrary to common belief, cloud service providers don’t automatically back up your data—it’s not their duty, often hidden in fine print.

If a customer accidentally loses data in the cloud or malicious actions, giants like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, or Slack aren’t obligated to restore it. Their responsibility covers their software, not the data within. They assure app uptime and supporting infrastructure, nothing more.

This shared responsibility model highlights the crucial need for businesses to invest in SaaS backup and disaster recovery to secure their cloud-based data.

Cloud computing offers various internet-accessible tools and services that swiftly adapt to rising computing needs. This agility reduces lengthy development cycles and removes the costs of hefty IT infrastructure.

First, let’s define the three most common cloud computing service models.

1. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Digital Ocean offer pay-as-you-go virtualization, networking, and storage. Clients can opt for cloud-based options, avoiding expensive on-site infrastructure investments.
2. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) providers like Heroku, Twilio, and OpenShift build on IaaS, offering frameworks and tools that accelerate application development efficiently.
3. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) directly delivers software to end-users via the Internet, eliminating the need for local installations. This model enables users to create management information systems without dealing with traditional boxed products. SaaS is built on top of PaaS and IaaS models. Notable SaaS platforms include Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Dropbox, Box, and Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).

Having understood SaaS within cloud computing, let’s explore what SaaS backup means.

SaaS Backup in a Nutshell

SaaS backup software stores and secures data created by SaaS products. SaaS products are software third-party vendors provide via the cloud without needing on-premises installation.

The data is stored in a backup location, either on-premises or in the public cloud, ensuring safety if the SaaS product experiences failure. Should a SaaS product fail, the client can restore the data from the SaaS backup solution and bring the SaaS solution back to a functional state. SaaS backup software needs to work seamlessly with the specific SaaS product to store its generated data. Not all backup software is compatible with every SaaS product, so many SaaS backup solutions focus on backing up specific single products or suites like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

While some SaaS backup services strive to integrate with various SaaS software for a broader approach, they might miss out on certain features offered by providers dedicated to backing up particular SaaS product suites.

Most SaaS backup solutions tailor their features to the software they support. For instance, backup software for email systems includes specialized data archiving features. However, there are standard critical features found in most SaaS backup software, including:

• Integration with the specific SaaS product
• Data encryption
• Data restoration capabilities
• Flexible data storage options (on-premises or in the cloud)
• Data auditing and search functionalities

How Vendors Provide SaaS Backup

Nowadays, several SaaS backup vendors protect SaaS applications through cloud-to-cloud backup. This involves creating copies of data from SaaS apps like Salesforce, Dropbox, or Microsoft Office 365 and storing them in another public cloud like AWS. Some vendors also keep copies on on-premises disk systems.

However, many customers need to pay more attention to backing up their SaaS data. They often assume that the service provider includes backup automation for SaaS services in their service package.

SaaS providers ensure system uptime but don’t offer detailed backups for recovering specific files or accidentally deleted or corrupted data.

It’s crucial to understand that SaaS vendors create backup copies of their data system-wide to guard against outages, data corruption, and cyber-attacks. However, they can’t validate whether data altered by a user within the SaaS software is accurate.

While you can incorporate SaaS protection into conventional backup applications, there are dedicated products designed to back up cloud-native data.

Why do Businesses Need SaaS Backup?

Businesses must know the associated challenges when shifting their operations to the cloud. These challenges highlight the necessity of a SaaS backup plan for a smooth transition.

The process should begin by understanding the motivations behind the move and conducting a thorough analysis of the impact the cloud adoption will have. Understanding the costs involved, aligning with compliance and security requirements, and prioritizing comprehensive end-user training throughout the transition stages is crucial.

Once you’ve completed the move, safeguarding data in its new cloud location becomes a priority. SaaS applications like Salesforce, Microsoft 365, or Google Workspace require a reliable backup and restoration strategy similar to those practiced for on-premises applications.

Before transitioning to a SaaS cloud setup, your data and applications were managed on-site. If an error or loss happened, your IT team could retrieve data from a specific date using backup drives and manually restore it.

However, once you’ve migrated to the cloud, you no longer have the same control over data manipulation. Without a backup and restore solution, there’s a risk of data loss in this new cloud environment.

Next, we’ll explore the Top Causes of Data Loss in Organizational Cloud Environments.

As mentioned, SaaS providers prioritize resolving errors and maintaining uninterrupted software service. However, they don’t bear responsibility for any mistakes or malicious actions on your part that disrupt your business. Here are the ways organizations can lose cloud data:

• Human Error: Roughly half of data loss incidents stem from human error. Employees may accidentally delete crucial contacts, emails, or essential configurations.
• Unauthorized Deletion Requests: SaaS providers will comply with deletion requests, even if they are illegitimate or malicious, as they lack the means to verify the intent behind the request. Ultimately, they aren’t accountable for unforeseen consequences.
• Pragmatic and Sync Errors: These errors occur when robust tools intended to streamline business processes inadvertently destroy vital data, leaving no option to undo the damage.
• Hacking Techniques: Hackers employ various strategies, including social engineering and technical exploits, to gain unauthorized access and steal your data.
• Malicious Insiders: These are employees who, for various reasons, may tamper with, access, steal, or intentionally delete company data, posing a significant threat.
• Ransomware Attacks: Ransomware constitutes a large-scale attack aimed at extortion, encrypting vital data, and demanding a ransom for its release.
• Malware and Viruses: Rogue software capable of causing havoc within your system with programmed efficiency, often emerging from existing code, making it difficult to defend against even without an active hacker attack.

Critical Strategies for a Seamless Shift to SaaS Data Backup

To effectively manage and safeguard your data in the cloud, it’s crucial to adhere to the best practices outlined below:

The best place to start is to understand what your SaaS provider covers and what they don’t.

Comprehend the scope of protection your SaaS service provider provides and establish your solution to safeguard your data.

Cloud providers take extensive measures to secure your data, employing high redundancy levels and robust backup systems to mitigate risks related to power failures, hardware, software glitches, or natural disasters. Consequently, data loss from their end is improbable.

Yet, the scenario is distinct on your end, where accidental or malicious data loss is more probable. Without data protection and backup systems, you become susceptible to enduring data loss and its complications.

Implement a third-party backup solution.

Thoroughly research and evaluate potential SaaS backup providers before making a choice. Ensure the selected option aligns with your specific needs and exhibits dedication to service delivery. Establishing a transparent and trusting relationship with your cloud vendors is essential. If feasible, create a checklist to assess your cloud-to-cloud backup providers effectively.

Promote good habits through training and knowledge sharing.

Most SaaS data loss incidents stem from human errors. Mitigate these risks by providing training, well-documented processes, and regular follow-ups.

However, relying solely on training and preparedness isn’t foolproof, so having a reliable backup solution is crucial. Look for a solution that enables self-restoration of data, empowering you to enhance productivity control and allocate IT resources strategically.

Establish clear data access policies when transitioning to the cloud.

While the cloud offers convenient 24/7 data accessibility, enhancing security by defining user access to various files is essential. Only individuals with the appropriate access levels can view and edit specific files. Many SaaS platforms offer role and permission assignment features, providing an added layer of protection.

Implement automated backup for your data.

Regarding data backup, you have two choices: manual and automatic. Manual exports are less efficient and often prone to delays or oversight. On the other hand, automatic backups require no manual intervention—set them up and let them run seamlessly in the background.

Regularly test your data restoration process.

Conducting tests on your restoration process helps you gauge the recovery time from potential data loss or corruption, aiding in creating suitable contingency plans. It also allows you to communicate the consequences of human error to your team and understand the impact.

Promote a culture of vigilance to mitigate data loss risks and decrease the likelihood of such incidents. This approach significantly contributes to ensuring business continuity.

Engage application administrators in your backup protocols.

The requirements of protecting cloud workloads go beyond conventional IT practices. Effective SaaS backup solutions should include involvement from business application owners who can handle backup and recovery responsibilities. This collaborative approach conserves resources and time for backup administrators while adding flexibility and agility to the process.

A symbiotic collaboration between IT and business application owners clarifies the ultimate responsibility for SaaS backup operations.

Prioritize compliance in your data management strategy.

Familiarize yourself with and adhere to the evolving compliance standards relevant to your industry. It’s crucial to recognize that transitioning to a cloud provider doesn’t change your responsibility for compliance.

When choosing a SaaS backup solution, ascertain that the provider’s services align with your industry’s compliance requirements. Implement appropriate controls as part of your due diligence to effectively fulfill your data management responsibilities.

Advantages of SaaS Backup

Employing an active SaaS backup solution offers businesses numerous daily advantages that extend beyond safeguarding data for unforeseen circumstances. These advantages encompass:

Benefits of SaaS Backup:

• Assured Compliance: Proper data protection and governance are critical for meeting modern compliance standards by ensuring business continuity, especially in the face of data loss.
• Effortless Employee Transitions: Ensures important data remains intact during employee onboarding and offboarding, an intelligent practice for efficient organizational operations.
• Enhanced Data Quality: Routine data backups enable businesses to identify and rectify data issues, promoting accuracy and quality.
• Rapid Data Restoration: Allows for faster data recovery compared to relying on SaaS vendors, which can sometimes have lengthy recovery times of up to 90 days.
• Targeted Data Recovery: Your SaaS backup must enable the restoration of specific, problematic data rather than entire datasets to minimize disruption and downtime.
• Efficient Data Retrieval: Streamlines the retrieval of deleted items, surpassing the tedious process of sifting through data since most vendors discard deleted items after a set timeframe (e.g., 30 days).

Considerations for Selecting the Right SaaS Backup Solution

You’ll find numerous SaaS backup options in the market, creating a challenge in making the best choice. Here are six vital factors to remember when opting for the most fitting SaaS backup solution tailored to your unique requirements.

Key Features and Considerations

When selecting a SaaS backup solution, prioritize compatibility with the SaaS platforms and applications you currently use or plan to protect. For instance, backup software designed for email systems should include email archiving capabilities.

Here are essential features to focus on when considering a SaaS backup solution to safeguard your critical business data:

• Seamless integration with the targeted applications
• Data restoration and export functionalities
• Flexible data storage options, whether on-premises or in the cloud
• Strong data encryption measures
• Customizable backup schedules
• Comprehensive activity monitoring and tracking features
• Configuration for data retention
• User-friendly yet powerful management and control tools

Ensure your chosen backup solution is compatible with all your SaaS software. Avoid solutions tailored solely for Microsoft Office 365 when you use other platforms like Google Workspace, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

Consider Recovery Time and Data Recovery Point

Evaluate the backup solution based on its Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) aligning with your Service-Level Agreement (SLA). Regularly assess the SaaS backup provider’s ability to meet your RTO and RPO requirements. Adequate RPO relies on precise recovery points, while efficient RTO is achieved through frequent backups. Ask yourself if the provider offers a quick recovery process from backups with minimal effort.

Achieving Normalcy Post-Disruption

Post-backup, a crucial distinction among vendors, lies in restoring data to its original state before any disruptive event. Proper recovery entails retaining the same format, patterns, and conditions, aligning with the pre-incident state. A fitting SaaS backup solution should guarantee this seamless restoration process.

Prioritize Security and Compliance

When choosing a vendor for SaaS backup, you should place paramount importance on the security and compliance of their service. It’s crucial to consider where your data is stored pre- and post-backup. The backup solution should also adhere to global data-centric regulations and standards, such as HIPPA, PCI-DSS, ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR, CCPA, or CPRA. Compliance with these standards mandates stringent safeguards, including long-term data retention and comprehensive activity logging.

Prioritize Precise Backup and Cost-Efficiency

Ensure you value granular backup and recovery features. Restoring specific data portions is more efficient than recovering entire chunks, especially when dealing with accidental deletions or intentional tampering. Granular backup and recovery prove crucial in such scenarios.

Additionally, consider the cost aspect of your SaaS backup plan or software. Assess the vendor’s licensing model, favoring a flexible and accommodative subscription-based approach for cost-effectiveness.

In Summary

The cloud is highly recommended for its features like security, universal accessibility, fault tolerance, and robust backup capabilities. These attributes significantly incentivize businesses and organizations to migrate data to cloud platforms. Lately, there’s a growing trend of enterprises shifting critical applications to the cloud, leveraging the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

However, a crucial question arises: Are SaaS versions of enterprise software completely secure? While cloud-based applications may offer better security compared to on-premises versions, they are not immune to vulnerabilities. It’s vital to recognize that the data in SaaS applications belongs to you, underscoring the responsibility to protect it. Proactive protection is not only better but also more cost-effective than remediation.

No enterprise or organization can afford data loss in today’s data-centric world. SaaS backup stands out as the most effective method to safeguard data, combining the advantages of the cloud while ensuring a secure copy is maintained separately.